Major Layoffs At Spin Magazine

Shortly after BuzzMedia has acquired Spin Magazine, the company has made some serious staff cuts. Billboard reports that Spin editor-in-chief Steve Kandell, Spin.com news editor Devon Maloney and a number of photo and production department employees were laid off yesterday. Kandell took to Twitter shortly after the news broke with a half-humorous request: “In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations to this bar tab at Nancy Whisky.”

BuzzMedia, which owns sites like Hype Machine and Stereogum, has reportedly been “evaluat[ing] the viability” of Spin’s print magazine; evaluating viability is corporate-speak for figuring out if something is making enough money. BuzzMedia CEO Tyler Goldman praised Spin’s “great storytelling” and said they were “still defining how print fits in from a platform perspective.” We can only hope that Spin’s editorial quality will stay consistent in the wake of these layoffs.

And Spin fans, stock up on the print magazine while you still can — insiders say that Spin’s September/October issue might be their last.